Huge increase in Ladbrokes machine profits since this link up......tells you everything you need to know on lots of levels.Much as i try i just can't find anything that is truly open,honest and impartial on the net regarding the business arrangements between Scientific games and the big bookmakers.My assumption is that the FOBTs are rented and come with a service package etc?.........just on that assumption alone the 3% profit on turnover they harp on about just doesn't stack up?.....the bookies make huge profits on them......Scientific games make huge profits too.In truth the whole thing is shrouded in secrecy,i can't even find out what company does the auditing and accounts for the machines,i have a suspicion though that it may be the worlds largest accountancy firm,(who happen to be a stakeholder in scientific games). Seano.

Your have to excuse me as I have never seen a FOBT let alone played one but from my Fruit Machine days they always had to have a minimum payout amount shown on the machine. Do FOBT's have the same thing ?

If they do you can do some nice sums to workout how much had to be put in the machines to get the profit given.

Nothing seems to be changing as far as the numbers we still see in GA however. Most bookmaker guys will now say FOBT's are the issue but we dont see any more people than we did before FOBT's came along.

From SG's accounts which suggest they have a huge interest in creating profitable source codes.

Gaming revenue was $44.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to $24.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. This 80% increase in revenue was driven by the acquisition of Barcrest ($11.5 million), a 40% year-over-year increase in Global Draw’s and Games Media’s installed base of server-based gaming terminals and an 8.3% year-over-year increase in Global Draw’s gross win per machine per day.

As i said in my earlier post the numbers just wont stack up whichever way you try to look at them (given the secrecy these operators and clients use)....if the payout % was 3% (for roulette) then the bookies and scientific games would be operating at a loss (after the cost base),so it's clearly not true. Regarding Rich's comment about the numbers being roughly the same in GA from bookie punters (but with fobt problems these days) that proves only one thing (in my opinion) and that is that the "gamcare" stickers on the machines are doing what they are designed for,to capture and contain problem gamblers within the industry containment"system" of that i have no doubt.Seano.

I've written to the Gambling Commission for answers, Seano. It would seem after the commission have taken the machine apart at a test centre, they are Licensed and are fit to do as they please. The commission state that the software companies policies and internal controls are audited and regulated. I've asked for confirmation of who does this and where are they based. I'm 100% certain that all auditing is done in Europe and the commission take their word for it instead of regulating their own patch.

As far as I can see there is nothing in place to stop a bookie ripping the back out and installing a whole new software programme. An extreme scenario but the point is that it would never be picked up if the above scenario takes place.

Hills use this company all i do know is there is a 2 hour call out for all machine faults / breakdownssomeone somewhere knows for example if a particular machine has had no coins put in it for a period of time, they know when you open them when you close them , and each machine is logged off each evening.We often joke that if a machine develops a fault that it will be fixed before you put the phone down !!!!